Journey of Life - Victory or Defeat?

Let's begin with the mind-map below:

The life we are living now is the sum result of the past decisions we made. The decisions we made were based on our thinking and values that we experienced and acquired. Our beliefs influence our thoughts, then our words, then our actions. Continued and repeated actions bring forth a habit. A set of habits make our character. Our character determines our destiny of our life be it a glorious one or a defeated and troubled one.

We cannot change the past, but we can make wise decision now to influence the outcomes of our future.

Working Backwards
So, if our desired destination of life is success and victorious, then we must work backward all the way to the basic beliefs we have. What do we belief actually determines the our becoming. If we learned the truth then we have freedom and success. If we believe in lies, then we end up in bondage and suffering.

Re-examine Our Beliefs
What are our beliefs? What are our world views? On what basis do we know we have the truth and not the lies? For Christians, our answers must be the Bible as written words of God and of Truth. We also need the Holy Spirit to be our guide and to make the Words come alive so that we can be lead and know the right things to to do for the situations of life that we meet.

Practice makes Perfect
Knowing without putting in practice results in nothing. Practice begin with meditating on the Words and revelation by the Holy Spirit. This is follow by verbalizing of our understanding by writing or speaking out. Then we must have a plan of actions for execution. Actions need to be repeated often to form a habit that we do without needing the reminder and the effort. However, we must put in the effort first before it becomes an effortless and automatic thing. In the process of execution, we discover our lack of understanding, or we make errors so that we can go back to the drawing board again to learn from the Bible and the Holy Spirit.

Unintentional Learning
In our daily contact with others, internet, TV programs and commercials, we are constantly bombarded with all kinds of concepts that we acquire almost without effort. The subtle messages get in into our mind. Hence we need frequently to re-examine our beliefs, biases, assumptions, prejudices etc against the Bible and Holy Spirit. We need to prune our thoughts in our mind and throw out the lies accumulated. Read John 15 about pruning by the Father so that we can produce more fruits.

It is not Lack of Blessings but Plain Disobedience
We often blame God for our failures or lack of blessings. But the truth is actually either our lack of knowledge of the Word of God or our failure to put them into practice. We give excuses instead of simple obedience by faith. God give promises to us. But God promises are realized in our lives through our obedience. Some are easy. Some takes time to develop. Getting things are easy. Building Godly character and producing the fruit of the Spirit take time. Patience can only be seen in meeting up with difficult and nasty people. Boldness is shown in meeting threatening circumstances.

See also

1. Know Your Season of Life and  
2. Christian Transformation & Growth -The Unified Model
3. Where is Our Confidence? 
4. Five Habits for Effective Christian Living
5. Our Calling of Life - Destination or Journey